


The Hunt for Eleanor Strauss

by Effenay



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Different perspectives, Kidnapping, Murder, Mystery, Other, Thriller, alternative universe, five point perspectives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Effenay/pseuds/Effenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Different individuals received a mysterious letter from an enigmatic Eleanor Strauss. Each letter contains the same message over and over again:<br/>"My name is Eleanor Strauss, I am being kidnapped. Please help me. Who knows where I am, for I do not I know where they are taking me. I managed to send you this message in a short span of time I have before they will come after me again. Please, if you are reading this message, I will reward you with all that I am able to offer.<br/>They said they will kill me if I do anything ‘funny’. Please, please. You are my only hope.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> To those who are reading this: I am only archiving this idea onto the website in hopes of saving this story from being deleted in computer. If anyone wishes to read more, Well... its been two years since I first wrote this and may or may not continue this depending on the situation. But please, feel free to write a comment if you are interested.

_“In other news around the country; for over 2 months, there has been numerous reports from the public to the police of receiving letters and all who reported claimed that there has been a kidnapping of what is suspected to be a young woman known as **‘Eleanor Strauss’.** Paula Herald will cover the rest of the story.”_

_“It has been the subject that has been bombarding the police stations in the city of Eridanus for two months,”_ The reporter voiced over the news reel, _“It has also become a hot topic within the social media; Eleanor Strauss. For other two months, around twenty individuals and still in counting have been claiming that they have received a letter that was written by a mysterious woman known as Eleanor Strauss, who claims in the letter that she has been kidnapped and has been held hostage. Mark Hart, who was one of the individuals who received these mysterious letters suspects that all of this fiasco has been a hoax.”_

 _‘I clearly doubt that a woman who was kidnapped would have the luxury to be able to send a letter to a postman or a post office to begin with and managed to write my address to be able to send it straight to my mail box,”_ a man said in clear disdain, _“its all illogical.”_

 _“Some however,”_ the reporter added, _“would think otherwise.”_

 _“If anything, I am quite concerned about this matter,”_ another man sheepishly admitted, _“If I were in her shoes, whoever this Eleanor Strauss is, I would take the chance to do some kind of stunt like this in order to get rescued. Maybe she managed to find someone to help her deliver random letters to her peers or something and they’re just asking for help.”_

The reporter continued to report: _“As strange as the phenomenon of ‘Eleanor Strauss’ is, the contents of the letter here was more spine-chilling, as it read:_

_‘My name is Eleanor Strauss, I am being kidnapped. Please help me. Who knows where I am, for I do not I know where they are taking me. I managed to send you this message in a short span of time I have before they will come after me again. Please, if you are reading this message, I will reward you with all that I am able to offer._

_They said they will kill me if I do anything ‘funny’. Please, please. You are my only hope.”_

_“Inspector Iris held a press conference today, announcing that anyone who receives these letters should proceed with caution and report to the police.”_

_“This has been a pressing issue for a while now, so let me go straight to the point,”_ the inspector announced, _“should anyone receive this letter must contact via phone or the closest police station, for in the past two weeks, there has been reports of five individuals who have received the letters have either died or have been found severely injured after being attacked in broad daylight by unidentified individuals. If you are concerned or have seen anyone or anything suspicious, please call *** emergency hotline.”_

 _“In the social media, even the name Eleanor Strauss became subject for conspiracy theorists,”_ the reporter added.

 _“Maybe it’s the illuminati!”_ sixteen-year old boy jokingly commented.

 _“No one truly knows for certain as to who this mysterious sender is, or whether or not Eleanor Strauss is truly real or an elaborate hoax,”_ the reporter concluded, _“all that remained certain is that truly, this phenomenon may forever remain as something unexplained. Paula Herald, AC national.”_


	2. Paper Trails: part 1

Porter leafed through the morning news with a pen in hand and an opened notebook that lay on the table cloth. An old Victorian coo-coo-clock hung against the wall; beside it were frames of old papyruses, yellowing papers that hinted its age and exotic decors from different ethnicities. For as long as he could remember, Porter had an eye for mysteries and adventure, as he had often imagined of being involved with big events that would spark his interest. Just as he had a strong belief in fate, he had an eye for the unknown.

Porter read through the newspaper every day and would write down pieces of news that covered unexplained phenomenon into his tattered notebook that had begun to yellow due to too much exposure under such harsh weather conditions. He was grateful for the creation of the internet, as it makes things easier for him to know the details of such phenomenon from different perspectives. However, it seemed that this time around, he didn't wish to rely on the internet as often as he should; after all, the subject of Eleanor Strauss had become a plague throughout the social media and in every forum he's ever read.

His curiosity would often wane if ever the subject of his interest would become a trend throughout the entire town; however, the phenomenon itself was almost something that could be perceived as something urgent or something that calls for attention and concern.

He turned to the yellowing paper that was left on the corner of his table. When he first received the letter, he thought he was special after realising that a blank paper could lead into an adventure. Porter picked up the letter and reread its contents as though he was practicing for a recital.

 _"My name is Eleanor Strauss,"_ he read out loud, but discontinued to read its contents. He read the letter over countless times to a point of almost memorising it. The very thought shattered him when he realised that twenty other individuals were reported to have the exact same letter as he did. Perhaps his hesitation to send it to the police was out of his own disappointment towards the reality of the matter.

No matter what it was that made him hesitant, he felt as though it was truly something worth looking into. Especially if this was a concern of someone who was held captive by someone unknown.

Porter switched the radio on and began to prepare his breakfast.

_"The inspector in charge of the investigation of the phenomenon of Eleanor Strauss have decided to stop the investigation due to the lack evidence. Inspector Frey who led the investigation says that it is most likely that such an individual as Eleanor Strauss does not exist within the city of Eridanus...."_

Porter soured at the news. He half-expected the police investigators to be half as witty as the detectives of many crime drama shows he enjoyed so much. "Oh well," Porter shrugged, "this is reality."

Without him ever realising it, his mouth lifted into a smile. The piece of news he had just heard was enough to re-ignite his passion once more. Porter couldn't contain his excitement at the thought that he could manage to outsmart the police; whom he had often assumed they would be the sort to solve everything without missing a mark unless they were corrupt.

His excitement seemed to have lost his sense of flavour in his food as he wolfed it all down as fast as he could. Then, without any further adue he hastened his steps towards his personal library and slid off one of his contact books from the "contact" shelf; flicking through the names and numbers he had recorded.

Porter slid off the phone from his pocket and began to dial the number.

 _"Opris services, how can I help you?"_ a female voice was heard from the other end of the line.

"Oh hey, Tahlia," Porter recognised the voice, "Its Porter."

 _"Oh,"_ Tahlia's voice darkened, _"It’s just you."_

"Tahlia, I promise you that I am not going to disturb you or your job," Porter explained, "I just need to talk to your manager."

A sigh was heard from the phone. _"Okay,"_ she said, _"Mr. Mark at the moment is busy, so, do you want to leave a message?"_

Porter swore in a hiss, and then sighed; "okay then, tell him that it looks like I'll have to rely on him after all and that he needs to call back ASAP, got it?"

 _"What's the rush?"_ Tahlia asked, _"It’s not like you've got something better to do other than researching and selling info to people who’s got the same interest as you."_

"Well, isn't it not your business to ask, Tahlia?" Porter responded.

 _"I'll leave you to your own devices then,"_ Tahlia sighed and added, _"look, just try to stay safe this time around; the last time something like this happened, you were almost midway through to the firing squad."_

"Look, just tell your boss that Porter has got something that will pique his... Obsession."

With that remark, the conversation ended.

Porter slipped his phone back into his pocket and begun to rummage through his old archives. His love of mystery enabled him to become a fact-finder at one point in his life and then later became in charge of the city's archives. He was almost at a level of an information dealer if not for his specialty of historical, mythical and supernatural records; if not all three, he would have records of unusual events or phenomenon.

"Now," he muttered, "Where are those records?" Porter turned to the glass-encased bookshelf cabinets that sat across his library and pulled out a key. The cabinet itself was custom made to hold his most treasured records, with a lock that could not be opened just by any ordinary key at all. The key was unique, just as the keyhole was; after all, it was custom made to Porter's liking. Porter then unlocked the glass door, and grabbed the oldest book in this shelf; _'Eridanus city census 1801-1945'_ it said on the leather bound book.

Although what Porter had in his hands was a copy of the actual census records of families in 1801 to 1945, the book itself was too old, almost as though a mere thumb-print could threaten its life. The man slipped his gloves on and began to flick through the pages.

In a moment's time, he was able to find what he was looking for.

_'Strauss Family, first arrived in Eridanus city in 1812 after the exile of nobles.'_

"Interesting," Porter smirked at the thought, "A long line of forgotten nobles. The first Strausses who arrived were Edward and Pauline Strauss. After the King denounced the feudal system in his reign, all the nobles were stripped of their status to live as equals. The Strauss Family was the first family ever removed from their noble standing."

"The Strauss Family used the last of their fortune that was provided by the King to open manufacturing factories during the city's development stages. Although the Strauss family's manufacturing companies were successful, it was short-lived due to the uprising of Luddites* which had led to the _Night of Flames_."

"The Night of Flames," Porter muttered. Everyone in Eridanus knew about the history of _The Night of Flames._ In the height of Eridanus's Economy in 1816, a band artisans who lost their jobs due to the rise of the industrial revolution sabotaged and burned down all manufacturing factories indiscrimitively in Eridanus on a single night. It was a devastating event for the city as factories were the city's main source of their economy.

"So the Strausses were one of the founders of the city," Porter said aloud as he continued reading.

_'By 1829, the Strauss family opened a business for artisans were able to use their craft to rebuild the city's economy.'_


End file.
